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Added by Jopie, at 22 February 2017
Opening Hours
- Monday Open 24 hours
- Tuesday Open 24 hours
- Wednesday Open 24 hours
- Thursday Open 24 hours
- Friday Open 24 hours
- Saturday Open 24 hours
- Sunday Open 24 hours
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22 Reviews
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02 June 2018
Just come back from a week in El Portillo and overall it was a good holiday. I informed the hotel that it was our 25th wedding anniversary in an email 2 weeks before departure hoping that they would make an effort to mark it with a banner or flowers or a bottle on champagne as other reviews have stated but there was nothing. We got got our request for a top floor and quiet room though.The beach is beautiful and the snorkeling just in front of you is great fun but be aware that you must sign a waiver to leave the private beach and walk along the public beach to the mangroves and swamp area to the right of the beach to inform you of the costs of being rescued if you get lost or stuck.The cleanliness is fantastic, the grounds are wonderful and the room maids were exceptional.The bar staff regularly served men first and let women and children wait until the men had been served. The alcohol in the drinks was quite small unless you asked for more to be put in. The food was very good with a large choice and even a vegetarian section of the main buffet.Any problems we had with the room, like the room key deactivated and room not cleaned one day were quickly resolved.The evening entertainment was poor and the quality of the acts was 3 star at best.We had no children with us so we cannot comment on the kids club or kids entertainment.There was enough sunbeds on the beach but not enough umbrellas. If your towel wasn't down to reserve your sunbeds by 6:45 then you were looking for shade under the trees for the day. Overall cheap and cheerful for the Caribbean but I would definitely not be going back
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30 May 2018
I have decided this would be my first and last stay at the Bahia Principe chain of resorts. I have stayed at other resorts and feel all guests should be given equal and VIP treatment. Our first room was poor so we requested to move, we were told we would her a mattress foam which didn't happen, our fridge was warm, the toilet clapper did not work, the patio door did not lock, we were told by the front desk when someone stole our towel to just steal one back, we were told we could have a late check out but had to leave our room at noon, our bus did not leave until 4:30 and were told to shower at the fitness centre (which DOES NOT have a shower!). I then waited at the front desk for over an hour behind a lineup of other guests because we were told we would be given a key to a room to get a shower. That didn't happen. I was offered a key at 4:15 as we were boarding the bus. Would NEVER recommend this hotel chain to anyone. Yes, we complained to the hotel but the only thing we received was a newer room but only because we complained. The "new" fridge they brought also didn't work. There is so many more problems. We made the best of it but couldn't wait to leave really. We were so glad the weather was beautiful at least.
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08 May 2018
Very beautiful place. Beach is awesome, plenty of shade. Resort is very well maintained. 5* customer service. Staff is very friendly. Rooms are very comfortable, spacious and well maintained. Food is of great variety, but not tasty. Try alacarte restaurants food is great there.
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28 March 2018
Lovely staff, especially the waiter/waitresses at the buffet. Great food! The Animation staff makes sure that you are enjoying ourselves. They are always ready to make you laugh/smile & enjoy your stay. Juan from Porterage always helpful, pleasant & offering his services at all times. Just a wonderful person! As for the resort, beautiful grounds, well landscaped, great beach/pool and located in a scenic area. The natives in this area are friendly. Always good to know that you will travel to a stress-free safe environment.
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22 March 2018
We had a Junior-Suite and have been happy with the room. It was spacious and clean.
The food was very tasty with a nice presentation. Although I did not like that we had to queue to get into the restaurant – the hotel was just too busy! (We stayed there in March 2018)
The beach is nice and clean, the water is clear. Sometimes the water was a bit murky in the morning but it was very clear in the afternoon. There are some stones or dead reefs in the Water so it might be better to bring swim-shoes. The water is very shallow so it is saver for kids to swim.
However, is a nightmare when you go to the beach in the morning and all sunbeds have been taken already! There are just not enough sunbeds!
In addition, I did not like all the Sea-grass in the water – I wonder if there is anything the hotel could do to remove it.
A guy from the Premier Club invited us to join and when I turned up without my partner for the induction meeting the next the morning he told me I can't come alone as the meeting is for couples only. I felt like he did not take me serious or he thought I can't make decisions without my partner.
Overall we had a good time in the hotel.response / report this review -
11 March 2018
Don't know where to start to describe how outstanding and exceptional service and professionalism we experienced ( 3 adults) at our stay that went so quickly our pillows where you have 3 different choices of thickness, something for anyone .spotless room, clean resort everywhere you lookpeople were cleaning things all the timefood was fantasticbuffet employees were so fast at the door so we never waited more than 3 minutes no matter how big lineup was there beach was being cleaned constantlyI was up every morning very early and once on the beach I would see lots of seaweed on the beach but by the time our breakfast was over beach looked like newWhen you show up after 3 years and first thing you hear at the reception after long day of travelling "Welcome home" you forget all troubles behind youWe left happy and sad at the same time.will come back for sure
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08 March 2018
Top hotel! The staff and the management are top! The cuisine in all restaurants and the buffet are really delicious! - Will go again there!
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04 March 2018
The resort offers a wide variety of food to meet anyone's taste and mood. The staff from landscaping, room keeping to restaurant and lobby were excellent, smiling and very helpful. The rooms and entire place was perfectly clean throughout our entire 1 week stay. Perfect place to relax and forget about the daily grind. I would go back in a heartbeat.
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04 March 2018
This is my fourth time staying at a Bahia Principe hotel, and my second at El Portillo. It will also be my last.
The service is simply not good enough. There are too many guests and not enough staff leaving them fraught and stressed, and the guests frustrated.
On our first night at the hotel we were told that one of the two rooms we booked was not available but an alternative would be sorted the next day. After nearly twenty-four hours of travelling this was not welcome news. The complete lack of an apology or acceptance of blame was worse.
On several occasions we ordered drinks which took upwards of twenty minutes to arrive - usually just as a meal was finished.
In the mornings, there was a shortage of coffee mugs. It took easily ten minutes to get the first coffee of the day; and staff were often to be found standing around chatting with each other.
Hotel cleaning was sporadic at best with one room not being cleaned for three days in a row. It was very common to return to rooms around 17:00 and discover that they cleaners had not yet gotten around to them.
Running water was also a problem. There were some issues with the groundwork’s in the hotel which led to water being shut off unexpectedly without any forewarning. After a day at the beach this is, as you’d imagine, unwelcome. Again, no apology was offered.
The non-buffet restaurants were disappointing, with the exception of the Italian themed offering. Service was slow, the food was mediocre at best and there was nothing to recommend it above the standard buffet offering.
To end on a positive note, the location and the beach are great.response / report this review -
01 February 2018
The views and quality at the beach is fantastic! The food and bar staff are amazing. The negatives are the rooms. The room we had was gross, out dated, bugs everywhere, the ac didn’t work half the time, tv and bar fridge didn’t work. We paid for a room upgrade and it not worth it at all. Friends of ours stayed the same time and they had a beautiful room. We went to the front desk and called the front desk multiple times and nothing was ever fixed. The other issue is the bar closes at 11pm so unless you want to go to the disco they close everything down. They turn off the lights in the bar and lobby so you can’t stay to play any games or see.
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14 December 2017
This is a great place to relax and enjoy everything life has to offer. Please beware, this place is not setup to cater to ethnic groups or people. You will be often overlooked in many ways!
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30 November 2017
Great hotel with a wonderful beach and excellent staff! Nice variety of food, I didn't get bored even after 2 weeks. Highly recommended for a relaxing holiday!
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22 November 2017
Great resort. Only a short transfer from the airport in Samana. Food was good but the buffet only opens at 7:00pm for dinner. Late for a family with small children. Good thing reservations at the a la carte restaurants start at 6:30. The room was awesome. Lots of things to do at the resort and everything is so close.
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25 September 2017
The stay on this resort was an amazing experience, the staf has a really good energy, had always a smile to give us. There's a lot of choices to eat. Is a clean place and a beautiful beach close to the resort.
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24 September 2017
Totally enjoyed our 3 Family trip to the Bahia Principe El Portillo. Food was great rooms clean and people were awesome. The coral reef along the beach made snorkeling everyday an adventure. The area of the resort is very secluded and safe.
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24 August 2017
We stay here for 13 nights during our summer holidays! Everything was perfect! The room was clean, the food good (we also had dinner at Rodizio and Portofino). The entire staff was clever and always present. Even in the "rush hours" we didn't wait more than 5 minutes before being seated at our table. We used also the SPA for a massage: they did an excellent job! We definitely would like to come again!
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21 June 2017
Visited in mid June the resort was 64% full.
We stayed in villa 26
Food
The good is excellent there is a huge offering. Everything anyone would want including vegetarian and gluten free options
Beach.
The beachfront has ample shade and sitting room. The ocean is waveless and ideal for small children ( I was here with a three year old)
The reefs give some good fish spotting opportunities. But you can see that they are badly damaged.
There are peddlers but they are respectful and not annoying in any way.
Sports
The proposed activities are adequate. The kayaks and sup are readily available.
The catamaran is in good condition and it was pretty windy.
Alcohol
The drinks are good albeit a bit too sweet for my taste.
Cleanliness
People are always manicuring sweeping and cleaning the grounds.
All in all this resort is well worth the 3000 $ it cost my family of the for one week with airfare that we paid from Montreal
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27 April 2017
We had such a good time with the tour staff and tour guides. They are the kindest and most helpful staff. They keep everything clean and there are activities every second of the day. You can never be bored. They had amazing excursions, the best buffet food possible really nice rooms. The maids kept our room spotless and made sure we had everything we needed to make our stay wonderful. It's the Dominican Disney ! I can bet you won't regret going
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20 April 2017
My husband got really sick. We ended up going to the hospital for 4 hours. They found out that he got a PARASITE. They said this comes from food or water. But the only place he ate was the hotel. We were told everything was washed with clean water but clearly something went wrong. They gave him lots of treatment and it cost us $1,800 Canadian dollars. It was a very emotionally, mentally and physically draining experience - Driving in the ambulance to a hospital in the middle of nowhere, where nobody speaks English, watching him get needles poked in him, IV dripping, drugs administered which I can't make sense of because I don't understand the languageit's all still very surreal. We are happy to be homewe don't normally say that from vacation
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17 April 2017
maybe should rather give a low rate :-)
Because as higher rate, as more people will be travelling over there, and will loose the essence of Samaná. It's a wonderfull beach, small hotel (compared with Punta Cana), all close together, no need for trains to go around the hotel, the beach is just amazing, similar to Isla Saona in Punta Cana, but can spend there all days you want, instead of just 1 day like in Punta Cana.
The hotel itself is not the higher quality you might expect from a Bahia Principe, but the location is just like paradise.response / report this review -
18 March 2017
Bribery and insults. Basic requests are met with hostilityor helplessness from staff. The staff won't do their jobs in the most basic way without a "tip" in advance. Hotel is clean, but staff is lost between rude and hopeless. They don't seem to understand English or Spanish, unless cash comes out in advance. Ridiculously overcrowded for the tiny beach available. Not enough chairs for guests, people stacked 10 rows deep at the beach. Food is overall good, but impossible to get a drink without waving USD around.
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01 March 2017
Great place. Very clean . Super family oriented. Shows are so-so. Staff is great. Food is okay. Beach is very nice as long as the weather is nice.
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